Congressman Ron Paul confronted Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke this morning about plans to replace the dollar with a new global currency during the House Financial Services Committee meeting on Capitol Hill.

“Already we see talk….about a new international world reserve currency and to me that’s pretty important because the fiat dollar reserve system is not gonna work anymore,” said the Congressman, adding that currencies have failed throughout history.

Paul asked Bernanke, “In your meetings with other central bankers, does this thought come up about a new international world reserve currency and if so, does the subject of gold ever come up….is there a move on to replace the dollar system?”

“I don’t think the dollar system is dead, I think the dollar remains the premiere international currency….I think the dollar system remains quite strong,” responded Bernanke.

Bernanke failed to address the issue of a new system of currency so Paul repeated the question of whether the subject ever came up, to which the Federal Reserve chairman responded, “no it doesn’t”.

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Asked if the subject of whether such a currency, or indeed the dollar itself, would ever be backed by gold and if gold ever came up in conversation, Bernanke responded, “only in terms of the sales that banks are planning”.

Despite Bernanke’s dismissal of talk about a new world currency system, such speculation has been rife and indeed French President Nicolas Sarkozy has repeatedly called for the dollar to be demoted as the premiere currency.

French Economy Minister Christine Lagarde has also called for the dollar to be replaced by the Euro as the world reserve currency, so to believe that such proposals have not emerged in meetings between central banks is stupidly naive.

The recent G20 meeting was itself billed as “Bretton Woods II” in reference to the first Bretton woods conference at which the dollar was established as the world reserve currency in the summer of1944.

Nobel prize-winning economist and former World Bank chief Joseph Stiglitz has also called for a new global currency, as have scores of other top economic analysts.

Bernanke’s claim that such talk has not cropped up during central bank meetings is dubious to say the least.